I will program that file to the new flash memory. As a means of checking my work, I have recovered the flash chip from the dead LS Pro the community purchased and I will read the contents of it and compare it with the file created by the above command. They should be identical. Once that is determined I will erase the flash chip, read it to verify that it has indeed been erased and reflash it to verify that the programmer is working properly. After that I will remove the flash chip from my working LS Pro (now with a completely voided manufacturer's warranty) and replace it with the new 512 KB flash chip. Instructions and photos showing how I do this will follow shortly.

I will program that file to the new flash memory. As a means of checking my work, I have recovered the flash chip from the dead LS Pro the community purchased and I will read the contents of it and compare it with the file created by the above command. They should be identical. Once that is determined I will erase the flash chip, read it to verify that it has indeed been erased and reflash it to verify that the programmer is working properly. After that I will remove the flash chip from my working LS Pro (now with a completely voided manufacturer's warranty) and replace it with the new 512 KB flash chip. Instructions and photos showing how I do this will follow shortly.

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== Adding an additional hard drive ==

+

== Adding an second SATA port ==

Adding a second SATA drive to your Linkstation Pro is as simple as installing a 0.01 uF surface mount capacitor at C279, C280, C281, and C282 and then installing the proper Molex connector at CN8. [[Image:CN8.jpg|left|thumb|640px|Second SATA port installed]] I used a Molex part number 67490-1225 (you can get a few free samples from the molex web site) and held it down with a piece of 18 gage wire soldered over it like a strap. This is sufficient since the force applied to the connector after installation is in the direction of the plug and the connector has alignment pins to take the loads associated with plugging and unplugging the SATA cable for the external drive. Note that the connector is a SATA plug and not the typical eSATA connector that would normally be used to connect an external SATA drive.

Adding a second SATA drive to your Linkstation Pro is as simple as installing a 0.01 uF surface mount capacitor at C279, C280, C281, and C282 and then installing the proper Molex connector at CN8. [[Image:CN8.jpg|left|thumb|640px|Second SATA port installed]] I used a Molex part number 67490-1225 (you can get a few free samples from the molex web site) and held it down with a piece of 18 gage wire soldered over it like a strap. This is sufficient since the force applied to the connector after installation is in the direction of the plug and the connector has alignment pins to take the loads associated with plugging and unplugging the SATA cable for the external drive. Note that the connector is a SATA plug and not the typical eSATA connector that would normally be used to connect an external SATA drive.

Revision as of 21:55, 20 February 2007

All input is welcome. Please do not edit this page directly as I do not want any information to get past me without my knowledge as it could be detrimental to the LS Pro on which I'm experimenting. Please post any comments to the forum thread or the talk page.

WARNING!

There is a possibility that you could brick your NAS with these instructions. Please make sure that you read the entire page carefully. THIS PAGE IS A WORK IN PROGRESS AND IS EXPERIMENTAL IN NATURE. AS SUCH, IS NOT FULLY TESTED AND IMPLEMENTED. THESE MODIFICATIONS MAY CAUSE DAMAGE TO THE LS Pro HARDWARE. IMPLEMENTING THE CHANGES DESCRIBED HERE MAY DAMAGE YOUR LS Pro BEYOND REPAIR, EVEN WITH JTAG ACCESS.

This is an account of the attempts of Tampakuro (aka Kuroguy) to open the LS Pro hardware to more development. I'll be concentrating mainly on the flash memory as well as adding an eSATA port.

Contents

Flash modifications

The JTAG Access Method

As we have no manufacturer's literatire for the hardware, installation of a JTAG port is not currently an option. That leaves the dual flash method described below.

The Dual flash Method

I will be using a modified dual flash method to gain the ability to safely modify the flash contents. As the flash contains the bootloader, flashing a non working bootloader would permanently brick the LS Pro. The dual flash hack used on the LS1 involved piggybaking a second identical flash chip onto the original flash chip and then alternately enabling and disabling the two chips to gain access to a backup copy of the bootloader stored in the piggybacked flash chip. recovery was as simple as booting from the backup copy of the bootloader and then switching to the original flash chip via a switch or set of jumpers and reflashing the original bootloader.

The modified method I will be using requires completely removing the flash memory chip and replacing it with a new chip with twice the memory. Prior to installing the new memory chip I will program the contents of the original flash chip into the bottom 256 KB of memory and then again into the top 256 KB of memory. Since the 512 KB chip is pin compatible with the 256 KB flash all that is necessary to switch from the lower bank of 256 KB (the original bootloader) to the upper 256 KB (the backup copy) is to toggle the most significant address line (A18) from low to high. This will be accomplished via a jumper that I will install.

I have copied the flash contents to a file named flash.contents using the following command

cat /dev/mtd0 ./flash.contents

I will program that file to the new flash memory. As a means of checking my work, I have recovered the flash chip from the dead LS Pro the community purchased and I will read the contents of it and compare it with the file created by the above command. They should be identical. Once that is determined I will erase the flash chip, read it to verify that it has indeed been erased and reflash it to verify that the programmer is working properly. After that I will remove the flash chip from my working LS Pro (now with a completely voided manufacturer's warranty) and replace it with the new 512 KB flash chip. Instructions and photos showing how I do this will follow shortly.

Adding an second SATA port

Adding a second SATA drive to your Linkstation Pro is as simple as installing a 0.01 uF surface mount capacitor at C279, C280, C281, and C282 and then installing the proper Molex connector at CN8.

Second SATA port installed

I used a Molex part number 67490-1225 (you can get a few free samples from the molex web site) and held it down with a piece of 18 gage wire soldered over it like a strap. This is sufficient since the force applied to the connector after installation is in the direction of the plug and the connector has alignment pins to take the loads associated with plugging and unplugging the SATA cable for the external drive. Note that the connector is a SATA plug and not the typical eSATA connector that would normally be used to connect an external SATA drive.

To test this I plugged the hard disk into the new sata port (I didn't have a spare SATA drive). The bootloader would not boot directly to the SATA drive plugged into CN8 so I bbooted the device using TFTP to retrieve the kernel and initrd. Once the device had the kernel and initrd loaded it pivoted to the root filesystem on the SATA drive even though it was attached to the secondary SATA port. I have attached a portion of the DMESG showing the device was recognized:

The next step after installing the SATA connector is to place the board back into the metal chassis and mark the location of the new opening that must be cut to allow access to the connector from the outside of the case. A dremel tool works well for cutting the chassis. After cutting the hole into the chassis, place the chassis into the plastic case and use a hot pin to mark the corners of the opening in the plastic case. Heat the pin sufficiently to poke completely through the case and then use a hot blade to connect the dots you just made in the case. I've found that a razor knife's blade heated with a torch will cleanly cut through the plastic case.